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School Wellness Plan

The district has a school wellness plan that focuses on maintaining high standards of nutrition and physical activity among students.

 Vaccination Clinic 2

Wellness Plan Documents

Local School Wellness Policy Requirement

In 2004, Congress added a new requirement to the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act that all school districts receiving U.S. Department of Agriculture funds for school meals have an approved wellness policy in place no later than the 2006-07 school year (Public Law 108-265, Sec 204).  

In March 2006, the NM Public Education Department released a set of rules that provide additional requirements for local school wellness policy (Wellness Policy and Nutrition: Competitive Foods Rules 6.12.5 and 6.12.6 NMAC, respectively).

On May 24, 2006, the APS Board of Education approved the district wellness policy addressing nutrition and physical activity.

In December 2006, the APS Board of Education approved a revised district wellness policy addressing all eight components of coordinated school health: 

  • Family, School & Community Partnership
  • Nutrition
  • Physical Education & Activity
  • Health Education & Life Skills
  • Healthy & Safe Environment
  • Social & Emotional Well-Being
  • Health Services
  • Staff Wellness

The goal of the district wellness policy is to strengthen and coordinate these components of school health.  By doing so, we can provide a comprehensive learning environment for developing and practicing positive health behaviors contributing to students’ wellness, academic performance and lifelong health.  

Steps to Wellness

  1. Get the School Health Advisory Council (wellness team) together
  • This can be an existing committee, such as safety or goal team
  • Include: administrator, teacher, nurse, counselor, and other health professionals, school food service, parent, student, and a community member
  • Select a chair/lead
  • As a team, review the process and APS wellness policy & procedural directives
    • Be sure to reference supporting document APS Food & Beverage Recommendations that details the NM food/nutrition standards for school food sales.  This is included in the APS Nutrition & Physical Activity Implementation Guide and can be accessed at the following website under the wellness unit: www.apshmh.com
  • As a team, complete the wellness implementation checklist 
    • Use Worksheet A to identify what level of implementation your school is at for each component. You may be surprised by the number of activities you already have going on in your school. 
    • Don’t worry about activities “not in place” and “in planning.”  This is okay.  You are not expected to have everything in place at the beginning.  You will be given information and support on all components throughout the school year.
    • Submit a copy of the wellness implementation checklist to the department
  • Develop your school wellness implementation plan
    • Prioritize areas for change based on implementation checklist (worksheet A), and team discussion of local needs and resources.
    • Ask the questions: What is working? What needs improvement? What are the gaps? Barriers? Opportunities?
    • Remember that you are implementing a series of improvements, which is an ongoing process that will evolve over time. 
    • Complete action plan using template for each component, Worksheet B. 
    • Ask: Does it address areas not in place, set a timeline, and identify responsible parties?  Did you obtain input from the entire SHAC?  How will you communicate the plan in order to gain support and engage others?
  • Submit a copy of your school wellness implementation plan (worksheet B)
    • Send to cluster assistant by dates below to keep on file at cluster office
    • Keep copies on file at school
  • Implement your school wellness plan
    • Begin taking steps that you’ve outlined to reach your goals, starting with strategies that address the most immediate need.
    • Your SHAC should oversee implementation of the action plan.  How often will you meet to ensure successful implementation?
  • Evaluate progress & measure success of your wellness plan
    • How will your team monitor progress?  It is recommended that your SHAC conduct reviews at least every month this first year. 
    • How will you know that you are successful?
    • Submit required documentation when requested by wellness coordinator.
    • Be prepared to report progress at the end of the school year.
  • Revisit your plan
    • Make adjustments as needed. 
    • How can this strategy/activity be refined or improved?
  • Celebrate successes! 
    • This is a perfect opportunity to communicate changes made in order to gain support for on-going success.
    This page was last updated on: October 7, 2010.